Welcome Remarks by Dr Daniel Tau – Executive Director of
BOCODOL on the Graduation of Learners in the Community Based
Work with Children and Youth Programme
11th July 2014 – Tlotlo Conference Centre

Your Excellency, South African High Commissioner to Botswana

Permanent Secretary MOESD

PS Local Government and Rural Development

Executive Director, REPSSI and Your Colleagues

Dean, University of KwaZulu Natal and Staff

Captains of Industry

Heads of NGO’s

BOCODOL Management and Staff

Graduands

Members of the Fourth Estate

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen
It is my distinct pleasure, honour and privilege to welcome you all to this
momentous and historic occasion in the life of BOCODOL. We gather here
this morning to witness the first graduation co-hosted by BOCODOL,
Regional Psycho-Social Support Initiative (REPSSI) and University of
KwaZulu Natal (UKZN). The graduation is a first for Botswana in the field
of education for which we are admitting graduates, hence my reference to
it as being historic.
I first wish to welcome His Excellency, the High Commissioner of South
Africa to Botswana and thank him for sparing time to grace this occasion.
Botswana and South Africa have relations that pre-date independence of
both countries. The post-independence collaborative ventures between
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the two countries have become stronger largely because of the long
standing historical and cultural ties and the several jointly developed
partnership frameworks meant to promote socio-economic development
of the peoples of both states. It is within the context of the existing
strong bilateral relations that BOCODOL, REPSSI, UKZN and the African
Centre of Childhood in South Africa have been able to make the REPSSI
Certificate Programme come to bare on the people of Botswana.
Beyond the programme for which we are gathered, BOCODOL has formal
partnerships with UNISA and North West University of South Africa. It is
because of your efforts towards ensuring harmonious relations between
our two countries Your Excellency, that we are able to collaborate with
South African Institutions for the ultimate benefit of our peoples. We
once again welcome and thank you for your attendance of this graduation
ceremony.
Secondly, I would like to welcome the Permanent Secretary – MOESD for
kindly accepting to step in for the Minister, who has had to attend other
pressing official engagements. Your presence PS, is a clear testimony of
your commitment to the development of Open and Distance Learning as a
strategic and critical field of Education in this country. We are honoured
to have you in our midst.
Thirdly, we extend a warm welcome to the Managing Director of Stanbic
Bank or his representative to this graduation ceremony. We pride
ourselves with the representation of Stanbic Bank here this morning, for
the Bank was quick to respond to the call for industry to land a helping
hand to the training of the graduates we will be celebrating. Our hope is
that going forward, other industry players will emulate the wonderful
example you have set. You are most welcome.
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Fourthly, it is my humble honour to welcome the Dean from UKZN,
REPSSI Executive Director and Other partners who have worked tirelessly
to ensure success of the programme whose graduates we celebrate today.
We value the synergy, professionalism and the spirit of Ubuntu that
characterized your involvement in this programme over the last 18
months. You gave it your all and to us at BOCODOL, “you are the Giants
on whose shoulders we rode”. Please feel welcome to your graduation
ceremony.
I must also extent a special welcome to representation of the Ministry of
Local Government and Rural Development. The Ministry has been
instrumental with its efforts to ensure success of the programme
ostensibly because they share the view that professioning the field of
community-based child-care, and mainstreaming child protection, psychosocial support and community mobilization, are critical cornerstones for
building a balanced and prosperous society. Once again you are most
welcome PS and your Staff from our partner Ministry.
To all of you distinguished guests, members of the press, graduands and
BOCODOL Staff, your presence is symbolic of your untiring efforts to
sustain the momentum of ODL in this country. You are most welcome and
I invite you to enjoy the proceedings of this ceremony whilst it lasts.
Having welcomed all of you to this graduation ceremony, I find it fitting
and appropriate to state that the Certificate Programme in “CommunityBased Work with Children and Youth” on which we wish to present the
first graduates, was designed to address a gap in the skills in respect of
people who work with children and youth, especially in per-urban and
rural settings. With today’s graduation, Botswana forms part of the
programme’s third cycle of delivery in East and Southern Africa. A total of
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53 graduates will be presented this morning out of 76 that originally
enrolled for the programme.
As BOCODOL, we are very grateful to form part of the consortium of
institutions across the 10 East and Southern African countries, that have
embraced the programme.
We take delight in participating in the
programme’s delivery because of its African orientation. It was developed
by African Academics for the emancipation of the African children and
young people, and its robustness and appropriateness are quality-assured
by a tried and tested African University – UKZN, rated as one of the few
global leaders in the provision of higher education. We value this
programme and its related partnership for it spurs us on as we work
against all odds to transform BOCODOL into an Open University in the
current National Plan period.
Director of Ceremonies, distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, you are
once again all welcome. In accordance with the norms, tradition and
protocol of the academia, I doff my hat to all of you for electing to
prioritise this graduation above all your other priorities this morning.
Thank you.
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